New Canvas course offers staff expanded DARS training

Academic advisors and staff at the University of Wisconsin–Madison now have access to a new tool designed to provide a foundational overview of the university’s degree audit application.

This month, the Office of the Registrar (RO) launched an online Canvas training course for the Degree Audit Reporting System (DARS) Request Application. The course provides an overview of DARS and explains how to access and use the app.

By moving to an asynchronous format instead of ad-hoc training options, these learning resources will now be available at any time to even more people than before. That ensures advisors and staff are as equipped as possible to support undergraduate students.

Continual Improvements

The DARS Training Canvas course arrives just before the DARS Request App’s first birthday. The app, which launched in late October 2024, brought a number of new features in a more modern package.

Creating the online training course has been a goal since before the Request App launched last year. Makenzie Relford of the RO’s Degree Audit and Academic Programs (DAAP) team led the effort, working closely with additional members of the team to shape the course content. The team also consulted with the Office of Academic & Career Success (OACS) to ensure it aligned well with advisor needs.

Other Resources

In addition to the Canvas course, advisors and staff who use DARS can use a series of step-by-step documents within the RO’s KnowledgeBase (KB) to guide themselves through a variety of tasks.

Each School and College also has a DARS liaison who can help answer questions and provide support as a first point of contact for advisors and school/college staff with DARS-related questions or issues.

If you’re a new advisor with DARS questions, join a drop-in Q&A session hosted by OACS and the RO on October 16 from 9 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. Please register by October 15.